Nearly another 2 weeks has flown by, filled with a range of different experiences along with ticking off one of the worlds 7 natural wonders, and one of the 7 man made wonders!
We said goodbye to LA and started our road trip to Vegas! There wasn’t much to report on our first day, other than diverting 45 minutes to Joshua Tree National Park (only later to find out that the special cactuses we went to see, ended up being on the main highway for the next 50 miles, classic!). We crossed states into Arizona, and spent the night in a cozy air bnb, with stifling 40 degree heat outside (thank goodness Americans have good air conditioning everywhere).
Our next day was one we were all looking forward to as we started en route to the Grand Canyon! It really is one of those jaw dropping moments when you arrive at the rim and stare out into the huge abyss. We spent 5 hours exploring the South Rim of the canyon and taking in the sites and different angles. We cooked nachos for dinner in the back of our van, and watched the sunset over the canyon. As we were leaving a huge lighting storm closed in, which made the experience all the more special. As it got closer to 9pm, we decided it was probably a good time to book our accommodation for the night! We ended up staying at a memorable motel called “Economy Inn” - it truly lived up to its name.
We then spent the next day road tripping to Vegas, but made a stop at Hoover Dam. Matt was in engineering heaven, especially considering the mighty dam was built during the great depression where resources were completely different to what they are now. We finally arrived in Vegas, welcomed with the hottest weather of the trip (it creeped just above 40 on our first night). Vegas really is a world of its own. We enjoyed walking the strip and visiting the different themed hotels and the extremely luxurious malls. The air conditioning was, however, our favourite part. Our highlight was going to see Mystere by Cirque Du Soleil hosted at Treasure Island. Second to that, was the 50 cent beers the next night and super hot buffalo wings. One funny story was our trip to Walmart, just before leaving Vegas. For those of you who don’t know, Jade is new to wearing contact lenses. After a couple of minutes in Walmart, Jade rubbed her eye and immediately felt pain. She couldn’t see, Matt had to direct her to the bathroom which had no mirrors inside? Only on the outside where everyone could see! Matt fished out the contact lens and discovered that it had broken and the other half lost somewhere in her eye. He tried to keep Jade calm, but with the pain and embarrassment combined, the tears came rolling and everyone walking past asked if we were okay (so embarrassing). Luckily the tears made the other half of the lens appear! Stressful and painful times.. good marriage building material though.
The next morning we farewelled our friends Tom and Marilyn who we shared a special 10 days with. Our next destination was Yosemite National Park. The strange thing about America, is that we drove 5 hours and went from 40 degrees down to 7 that night. We swapped out singlets for beanies, and desert for snow. Incredible! The photos from Yosemite speak for themselves, its nature at its most beautiful! Our time in Yosemite consisted of three bear viewings, with the last being the best. The baby bear got so close to the road that the park rangers had to scare it back into the woods. We completed a 5 hour hike to Yosemite Point with amazing views of the valley at 3000 ft elevation from the valley floor. Filling our bottles up with fresh mountain water was well worth the walk. Another highlight was spending our nights around the campfire, although knowing bears were around was a little frightening (especially considering everything from food to scented toiletries had to be stored away in bear lockers).
After 3 days in Yosemite we were ready for proper showers and some fast food, and it was time to make our way to San Francisco. We were lucky to stay in a quaint hotel in the heart of the city a few blocks from Fishermans Wharf. We loved San Fran! Everything is so simple to navigate around and we especially enjoyed watching the cable cars go up and down the streets. It is a special place, with very cute architecture and a lot of character. Our highlights from the city included Pier 39 and watching the sea lions, cycling over the Golden Gate bridge, our trip to Alcatraz Island (the most iconic and dreaded Federal Prison in American history) and for Matt.. Sourdough Clam Chowder (I opted for the tomato option).
It’s been a fun few weeks with very different experiences along the way! We are ready for some beach time and relaxation.. time to road trip the Pacific Coast Highway and spend some days on the Sunshine Coast :)
The Bradleys x